ER in West Eugene
Eugene needs an ER. It could even hire the recently fired ER group from PeaceHealth! I remember when the city blew the opportunity to keep Peacehealth on this side of the river. Now I read — thank you, Christian Wihtol (EW Feb. 12) — that the city of Eugene has thrown up more hoops to jump through for the developer of a Eugene ER. Why am I not surprised? That has been the city’s longstanding reputation for development.
So — I’m asking all of us Weekly readers to write to the new city manager to ask, demand, plead, cajole that exceptions be made forthwith to get moving on a very necessary piece of infrastructure in Eugene. Thank you and onward.
Jay Moseley
Eugene
Not Just One Way
I find myself dismayed at the tone of the recent letters printed here regarding the downtown protests of ICE. To be clear, I’m 100 percent supportive of the protests. I have joined some of them, along with other demonstrations and marches that have taken place during the reign of Dear Leader. The problem for me is that some of the letter writers are putting this in terms of “our way is the way.” Not everyone has the time, energy, or frankly, the courage to risk arrest or possible bodily harm. And, in my opinion, not everyone needs to. There are many ways to contribute to fighting the evils this administration is perpetrating, and many of us have been using these ways for years now. Among them are feeding the homeless, participating in neighborhood watch groups, helping at Egan Warming Centers, and working with groups to mitigate this administration’s incredibly harmful immigration deportation tactics.
We need to be careful with our rhetoric. When we speak in terms of our way being the way, all we are doing is creating more divides between us. History teaches us this is exactly what the people on top are counting on. We all deserve our own place in this struggle. Please, let us honor that instead of chastising/guilting those who don’t do things the way we think they ought to.
Neil S. Burton
Eugene
The Disaster that is Chambers Bridge
If it weren’t bad enough that the Eugene School District decided to remove my children’s school from its natural location in North Eugene to the south hills (against the majority of that school’s faculty and parental support, I might add), it has certainly been compounded by the disaster that is currently Chambers Bridge. Whatever is going on up there doesn’t inspire confidence in the road’s integrity, appear the least bit efficient, or progressing in any comprehensive manner, so much so that my children now daily recognize this lack of progress and wonder what the workers are doing (when we see workers at all!)
Perhaps a reevaluation of a logical traffic plan is overdue, as well as an assessment of the company performing the “work.” Until things change, the snarl of morning and afternoon traffic that plagues us parents who have been able to stick with the re-relocation of our children’s school is added frustration with 4J.
Joseph Mitchell
Eugene
SPS Resignation
The sudden resignation of the Springfield Public Schools’ superintendent and board chair is the most recent development in a district that needs increased support and input from its community. Residents can show support for Springfield’s children and educators by attending board meetings. But there’s little time in those meetings for public input about the issues underlying the district’s troubles. That’s why the Community Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) invites citizens of the Eugene/Springfield area to its next meeting, regarding the curricular gaps in Springfield’s K-5 schools, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm, in the Springfield City Council chambers.
At CAPE’s January meeting, presenters displayed a pie chart of time spent on the various school subjects in a typical third grade classroom. It showed almost no time given to science, history, geography, or the arts. Instead, the great majority of instructional time was devoted to the narrow range of literacy and arithmetic skills featured in standardized achievement tests. This restricted curriculum seems based on the disproved belief that higher test scores equal better education. They do not. In fact, other schools and countries that provide a balanced, integrated curriculum consistently score higher on achievement tests than schools that pursue a fragmented, test-score-focused curriculum. An effective education for children in a democratic society requires a well-rounded, complete curriculum — not one confined to the tiny bubbles on a standardized test.
Please attend CAPE’s next meeting and support its efforts to restore wholeness to Springfield children’s educational lives.
John T. Osgood
Springfield
A Sharp Felt Pain
I was injured on Oct. 22 walking to the library along Olive Street. I felt a sharp pain and saw a deep cut on my right forearm: somebody had glued a sharp metal object to the round “coin vault” on the front of a parking meter, which sliced my arm when I walked past it. It was a deep cut, down to the fascia, and bled heavily. I ran to the library, where someone with a first aid kit helped stem the bleeding. Then I rushed to urgent care.
After a total of three urgent care visits I was referred to PeaceHealth wound clinic, where I spent the next several months getting outpatient treatment while on high doses of antibiotics. I was lucky: I did not develop sepsis, but I do have a permanent scar on my arm.
Three weeks after being injured, the metal object was still there; I sent photos to the city of Eugene explaining what happened. Two days later the round coin vault on that meter had been removed. (All the other parking meters in the area previously had their coin vaults removed, but not this one.) I asked if the city would reimburse my out-of-pocket expenses, and they sent me a claim form which I sent in. In reply, I got a letter stating that since the City of Eugene had no prior reports of problems with that parking meter, the city was not negligent and had no liability.
Folks, be careful in downtown Eugene.
Lorin Hawley
Eugene
ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS
Protesting in the Street
… is cultural fallout from Europe’s Dark Ages. It continues because there is no apportioned representation in Congress; instead of the constitutional mandate of one representative for every 30,000 taxpayers, we have one for every million or so. So, protest, but protest to repeal the law that limits representation. It’s PL 62-5. It stopped the number of representatives from increasing after the 1911 census. It may have seemed logical at the time because of the physical size of the House of Representatives, but it also gave rise to the silent majority. To accommodate the original constitutional mandate, state legislatures need to serve as individual chambers in a 50-chamber House. Then, instead of protesting in the street, the halls of Congress will echo the voice of the people.
Jon Meadow
Eugene
Trump Merch
Trump real estate, golf, hats & cheesy silkscreen t-shirts made in China, Trump University, Trump casinos (defunct), Trump vodka (to commemorate late brother who succumbed to alcoholism), Trump faux Rolex wrist watches, copycat Nike sneakers, Mar-a-Lago, Trump steaks, Trump beauty pageant schemes, jetliner and helicopter (not to be confused with Epstein’s Lolita Express), Trump cryptocurrency, reality TV (discounting 45th and 47th apprentices), Trump Bible, Gaza land-grab real estate schemes, Ukraine land-grab real estate schemes, iconic Kennedy Center, airport, bridge, condoms, Trump MAGA et al …Trump. Trump. Trump.
Holy hoax! Trump’s prolific brand is everywhere … including one-million-plus times in the ‘un-redacted’ Jeffrey Epstein files.